


You're weird...I like it

by xXDBJonahXx



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Carl's a shy little bugger, Crushes, Enid is Bro, M/M, Ron's a Weird little bugger, and awkward, and just as awkward
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-06
Updated: 2017-10-17
Packaged: 2018-09-15 05:33:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,832
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9221222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xXDBJonahXx/pseuds/xXDBJonahXx
Summary: Ron Anderson never claimed to be the most normal boy around...A collection of connected One-shots





	1. Ron Anderson

**Author's Note:**

> Let me just put this out there...I love Ron, I honestly think they could have done more with him but alas his life was cut short.  
> I love Rarl. Yes, I know it's not Canon, yes, I know people hate Ron.  
> But you know what? I don't care, I love Ron  
> That said  
> Here. Have some cutesy, slightly OOC shit I typed up~

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which we see the days in the life of a Ron Anderson!

Ron Anderson never claimed to be the most normal boy around. Hell, before the Apocalypse he could count on one hand the number of times from Middle school into the High school that he had told someone he liked them, only to be laughed at like he’d told a hilarious joke and called weird; They would walk away claiming they wouldn’t be caught dating a weirdo. Out of that handful of before people, one had said yes…it lasted all of the entire school day before they decided the gossip about his apparent weirdness was more important than him as a person; so he didn’t count that one yes as any kind of positive. It was a fond memory if anything, and it would always be at the back of his mind as that one moment that would never happen again as long as he was alive.  
When things with his family got complicated he just distanced himself entirely, which only added on to the facts of his weirdness in the eyes of his peers. He stopped trying when it came to these people, and they would later wonder why, when he ended up fighting a kid who had called his mother a cock-sucking whore, they hadn’t realized before how cool he actually was. He had won in a fight induced by rage against the school bad boy. It was too late for them, though, he wanted nothing to do with people who treated individuality as a weirdness, as something to be shunned. They had dug their own graves in his mind, rejected his personality when he wanted them. No longer. He would then, rather easily at that, step into the role of the very kid he had fought over his mother's virtue. He would become the bad boy, the loner…and he didn’t mind.  
When the Apocalypse hit he would admit with a smile that he was glad for it, his peers got what they deserved and he couldn’t be happier. After awhile, though, it got lonely and immensely boring without other kids his age around; there weren’t very many left at least. He realized he’d have to once more try to make friends. That’s when Mikey came in.  
Mikey was an interesting kid; in his opinion anyway. He was attractive but not in the way Ron personally liked so it was easy for him to try being his normal quirky self around the dark haired boy; Mikey himself personally found Ron a riot to be around and bonded to him in a friendly manner like glue. They were near inseparable best friends who liked to game hardcore and sometimes cuddle; the cuddling was Mikey putting up with Ron’s clingy periods, and sometimes Ron would wonder if closing himself off years ago was the right thing. Sometimes he wished he had met Mikey sooner; when the world was still normal.  
Enid was like a breath of fresh air when she came along. She had piqued Ron’s interest, leaving him to feel conflicted as memories from a time no longer made themselves known. He had recounted the times of his rejections; the handful that they were, to Mikey when he’d asked Ron what was wrong. It took a week for Mikey to convince Ron it was okay to be his weird and quirky self around Enid.  
They were going out the next week and Ron couldn’t even remember the last time he was happy; moments with his dear best friend aside. Still, things with Enid weren’t easy. Ron often found himself wondering if Enid merely puts up with him and only agreed to date him due to limited choice, but then she really didn’t seem like the type to do that and she could have just as easily said no and chose Mikey instead.  
Since the beginning, things with his family seemed to run on a day-to-day basis when it came to the general mood of the household; even now during the Apocalypse. There would be a good day but it would generally be between several bad, especially when his father decided Ron was the target; a rare occurrence when his mother wasn’t home to receive the brunt of the alcohol-induced anger, the drink Ron had come to hate the most. These bad days made worse sometimes seemed the only days Enid was even concerned with him, the only time she looked his way lately, most often she was gone. He knew she cared, she wasn’t heartless, he just wasn’t her priority, hadn’t been even when they got together. So when the breeze blew in a new set of people Ron was both anxious and excited…and if he was honest with himself completely terrified.  
Like with Enid, Carl Grimes also intrigued Ron in that same way Enid had, once again leaving him conflicted but for a completely different reason. Ron wanted Carl…But he was with Enid who almost ironically enough came back within the same day as Carl’s arrival. Ron didn’t talk to Mikey this time, he didn’t think Mikey could help him with this rather personal matter. He knew things with Enid were not going well; had not for a while now, but he wasn’t about to cheat on her and it was hard to break up with someone when they weren’t around. So he settled with trying to befriend Carl. The boy was just as elusive as Enid, though, if not more so, and Ron dare not approach the boys home with so many people. It was a trial. Enid made the decision herself in his opinion when she began to cozy up to Carl like Ron was no longer a factor in her life. Sure, she checked up on him, she did care, but he wasn’t Carl, he didn’t have the know-how of the world beyond the walls. She confirmed it by breaking it off with him gently; he remembered it being gentle because it was one of those extra bad days. Moreover, without a thought, she was back over the wall.  
That event was a week ago, Enid was gone, she was not going to come back, that was why she broke it off he figured. Yesterday had been one of his bad days; his father had been beyond drunk and Ron was getting sick of him taking it out on his mom. Therefore, he’d intervened. He didn’t regret it, he did, however, regret coming outside this day; the day after, with a large bruise on his face from when he’d been slammed into the wall, so he found himself a secluded place by the pond, where he currently sat thinking over things.  
Like Carl. Carl had shown mutual interest in Enid when they hung out. Did that mean he was interested in her romantically or was it simply mutual on the fact that they had something in common? Could Ron be himself around Carl? Would Carl even accept Ron’s quirks or was Mikey going to be Ron’s only friend for days to come? Ron went both ways if he was honest with himself though gender as a whole didn’t matter to him, just the soul did, only what made a person their unique selves mattered to him, not the physical body; though he'd be lying if he denied it having a small part in his choices.  
“Ron?” He jumped a mile out of his skin, that’s what it felt like anyway. In reality, he’d almost vaulted himself into the pond; his startled reaction had startled the speaker too.  
“Carl?!” Ron looked up, twisting his body to do so, eyes meeting the bright blue of Carl’s, causing the brunette to raise a brow before his face scrunched up in worried displeasure at the sight of the bruise splashed across Ron’s face though before anything could be said Ron cleared his throat.  
“Um…something up?” he’d admit to himself he rather liked watching Carl’s expression change, it was so subtle you wouldn’t notice it at all; unless you were Ron and currently studying the other boys face to commit to memory just in case he decided you weren’t worth his time.  
“No, I just…saw you come over here, you looked lonely and I haven’t seen Mikey for some time now” ouch. Carl seemed to catch on despite his normally stunted social skills “I meant like you're normally with him when I see him, not…um” he stumbled over his words, unsure of what to do and Ron found it adorably endearing.  
He couldn’t help but chuckle at Carl “I got it, dude, no worries…but yeah, Miks been sick as fuck these past few days so I’ve been banned from his side until further notice” He watched the subtle changes in Carl’s face. Internally he was screaming, he knew Carl would reject him because he clearly liked Enid but his everything was demanding he do something to get it out in the open or forever suffer in silence! The fight was hard, he was losing.  
“Oh, well…wanna hang out then, If you’re not busy?” Ron rose a brow at Carl’s quiet request, he remembered how shy he was when he first came, when they first met, this was almost like that except he was more aware of Carl now than he was that first day they met. For Carl to be nervous something had to be up…was it because Enid had gone over the wall and now Carl had no one to hang with? Ron was getting ahead of himself now, Carl wasn’t that kind of person…he hoped.  
His paranoia towards that kind of thing won “Not to be a rude or unappreciative friend, Carl, but does this have anything to do with the lack of the Enid-like presence that’s usually with you…” He hadn’t meant to sound so bitter cause he wasn’t, well maybe a little but it wasn’t aimed at Carl.  
There was immediate regret on Ron’s end at the sight of Carl’s crestfallen face; odd as it was.  
“No…” Fuck! Fix it, Anderson! Make the boy smile, he looked better when he smiled!  
“Hey, it’s alright, we can hang, I’m just having an off day, didn’t mean to snap at you, Enid broke up with me before she left so I’m a little ehh right now”  
No more sad look, good…now to test out how rickety the bridge of friendship was.  
“You know, we’ve never actually hung out, just the two of us, I might weird you out or something, you prepared for that?” Ron couldn’t help the teasing smirk his lips had formed, more so when Carl reciprocated it with one of his own.  
“Give it all you’ve got, I can take it” That smirk became cocky.  
Ron couldn’t help the perverse image that ran through his head. Hey, give him a break, Carl was attractive, and life had not been kind to him in the hormone department! Technically speaking he was still a virgin, his mind, however, had seen too much porn of a varying genre to be considered as innocent and virginly.  
“Alright, but don’t say I didn’t warn you!” Ron pushed himself up off the ground, dusting himself off. Now, in a normal situation, two teenage boys had a multitude of things to do, but in Alexandria, within the confines of a zombie apocalypse, there wasn’t much to do…naturally, chaos ensued. Chaos in the form of pranks played on unsuspecting Alexandrians.  
Eugene was the first one on their list, Carl was apprehensive at first but the more he thought about how Eugene was, the easier it became to convince him. After Eugene, everyone else was fair game to Carl and Ron. They got Aaron, who laughed with them when he found out, they got Michonne on duty who threatened them back with a teasing smile; which both boys would admit later on scared them. They got Tobin, Spencer, and Rosita before their streak came to a halt in the form of Daryl.  
They would have got him, Daryl would have been their last one but somehow the man had managed to turn it around on them by having Carl walk into the trap instead of him. Hilariously yet, unfortunately, Carl ended up with a face full of green paste they had made from various plants outside.  
Cleaned up and still bored it was Carl’s idea this time; he even said Ron could say no and he’d be fine with it. He wanted to take Ron over the wall, he knew of a small town a couple miles away, they could see what was up, he could teach Ron how to protect himself outside the walls. Ron was wary but agreed on the condition that Carl never leave him alone out there; Carl grinned and agreed. Sneakily, they made their way over the wall, dropping to the other side, both sporting a knife though Carl had his gun too. Ironically enough they ended up playing a weird game of tag, tripping each other into the leaves while trying to make little to no noise as possible was harder than it sounded and only twice they had to deal with the walking corpses their noise had attracted. The rest of the walk was spent with increasingly odd questions by Ron which either had Carl looking at him funny or laughing. They made it to the town without incident and ended up searching through a bunch of houses.  
Eventually, they found what was once some clothing shop, what was ironic was that it was mostly untouched; Carl summed it up to the run down look it had on the outside as well as the semi-hidden location behind the foliage. There were signs of someone being here once what with the empty cans and bottles scattered around but they were all covered with at least an inch worth of dust around the place.  
Carl picked up a book, hearing the creak of the pages and the sound of sand sliding off. Ron had been looking through the untouched clothes, finding a bunch of plaid button-ups; the thicker material holding time better than the thinner cotton of most of the ruined t-shirts.  
“We should probably head back now” Carl hummed, slinging the bag of stuff they had scavenged over his shoulder; Ron had his own, nodding in agreement with Carl. The two didn’t joke around on their way back, going as fast and quietly as they could to beat the setting sun. Once over the wall once more they snuck into one of the unused houses on the edge of the community, setting camp up in the master bedroom; they couldn’t bring it in without giving away that they had been out, Rick would know and they would both be in trouble, especially Carl.  
“There’s still a lot of stuff there, we going back tomorrow?” Ron questioned, watching Carl. The brunette seemed to contemplate, looking around before finally looking to Ron.  
He smiled, nodding “Yeah, I don’t see why not, besides, we could…I dunno, make this place like our private stash?”  
Ron blinked, looking around at the room like Carl had done. Their own place? It was a hopeful thought to him, that one hopeful thought stretched his lips into a smile “Yeah”  
A smile mirrored by the one stretching across Carl’s face as he chuckled. He hadn’t seemed repulsed by Ron’s weirdness, his brain indicated this as a good sign, urging him to take action and his heart agreed with its everything. Despite logic stating it was only one day and he risked everything by going that extra mile he decided to do it anyway. He decided, despite all logic, he’d let Carl know. Walking side by side towards the more civilized area, Ron found himself fidgeting. It was now or never. He preferred it not be never.  
"Well, I…gotta go check in with mom, I’ll see you…tomorrow morning?” At Carl’s smiling nod Ron took a breath “Okay! Um…okay, I’ll…yeah” he reached out, pulling Carl into a timid hug…and promptly licking up the side of Carl’s face, coating his cheek in saliva.  
Taking note of Carl’s face which had wrinkled slightly, Ron’s face flared red “Bye!” he turned, pulling his beanie down in an attempt to hide his cherry colored face as he power walked away from Carl, logic screaming at his brain for leading his heart into hurt that was sure to come.  
Making it home Ron didn’t see Carl for the next several days; 7 to be exact, Ron hid away in his home for a whole week, Mikey had to come to him in order to see him. He recounted the day locked in his memory to his best friend, explaining every detail down to what had been worn “And then, after all of it, I fucking blow it by licking his face! Licking! Once more I ruin everything, Mik”  
Mikey watched Ron fall face first into his bed and proceed to mumble profanities into the covers.  
“I don’t think you ruined anything actually” he chuckled at the sour look Ron gave him from the side “No, really! He’s been asking if you’re alright since your mom told him you were sick, that doesn’t sound like a ruined anything to me”  
Ron sighed “We were supposed to go back to that place the next day but I had to be a moron…”  
Mikey rolled his eyes “Just talk to him…he’s not going to, like, disembowel you or something, anyway, I gotta get back, moms got dinner cooking”  
After Mikey left, Ron got up, looking out his window to watch Mikey go, instead watching Carl approach Mikey. Watching them talk a moment, Mikey would shrug, pat a dejected looking Carl on his shoulder, and continue on his way. Stepping away from his window before Carl could see him he plopped back on his bed, falling asleep.  
The next morning Ron stepped into his kitchen…only to panic and hide behind the wall; Carl was at the front door “Can you let him know I’m going on a run with my dad? We should be back by tomorrow” he heard his mother agree before the door was closed.  
“I know you're there, Ron, I can hear you” she spoke as she came into the kitchen “Why are you avoiding Carl?” she looked at him, slim brow raised in question.  
“I’m not, just didn’t feel like doing anything is all, didn’t feel good either” Just by looking at her face he knew she wasn’t convinced but she wouldn’t press “Feeling a bit better today though” he nodded.  
She hummed at him, watching him the entire time he made himself something to eat and headed back up to his room. In the end, he did end up going outside if only to get away from her staring; he could swear he felt it through the floor!  
Making his way to his pond he wasn’t expecting to be yanked into the foliage by Carl, who gave no room to protest. Alls Ron knew was suddenly his face was being assaulted by something warm and wet. And it was only after looking at Carl’s equally red face that he knew what had just transpired, he couldn’t even bring himself to wipe his cheek off, letting Carl’s saliva dry “Carl, I…”  
“You’re weird…” Ron flinched slightly at Carl’s words “But, I like it” the blue-eyed boy smiled and Ron could swear to the sky he felt his insides melt as surely as he felt his face heat further into that same cherry color from before, felt his lips stretch into a timid smile. He’d never had his weirdness thrown back at him in such a way. Staring into Carl’s smiling face he realized, and no disrespect to Enid meant, he liked Carl a whole Hell of a lot more than he’d ever liked Enid.


	2. Carl Grimes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carls point of view is rather insightful

Carl Grimes could say without a doubt that his life was as normal as the time allowed. He had his family, though not all were related by blood. He had his sister and his father. Their life was hard, he wasn’t gonna lie, sleepless nights and days of starvation can change people, make them desperate. Not his group. They remained solid, they remained unchanged to each other. When Aaron found them, took them to his home, a place called Alexandria, he didn’t know what to think, it was too good to be true. From the looks of it, though, Beige was about to be his life, just like the walls in Deanna’s home when she questioned him.  
Deanna’s questionnaire was nothing to him, he answered with the truth, unblinking. The first time he stepped into their new chosen home, found that it had running water; running HOT water at that, he felt like it was a dream, this wasn’t his reality, it couldn’t be. But the more the day went, the cleaner he got, the comfier he got in a room to call his own, when his belly had real food in it, he came to realize that it was indeed his reality, this was real. This was their home now. This beige life was his now.  
The first week there was awkward. People stared at him when he would push his sister around in her new stroller; like he was some kind of strange, freaky thing they’d never seen before to be gawked at.  
He didn’t like it. Not one bit.  
When he met Ron on his father's insistence it was followed by Mikey and Enid. They were fun to be around, Mikey was cool and Enid gave the impression she was just there to be there but he could tell she was having fun too. Ron though. Ron was a riot, always asking or commenting on whatever game Mikey had in the console. One thing Carl noticed about him was Rons need to touch, he always had to be touching, leaning on Mikey or Enid in some way or fiddling with his shirt, didn’t matter, his hands were busy; Carl could swear at one point he saw Ron playing with Mikeys mess of black hair. The longer he hung out with them the more he realized he had a lot in common with them. Even after meeting Enid out in the woods, after they discovered a mutual understanding, she still kept to herself. Mikey was more open but closed to anything outside the wall, But Ron…Carl couldn’t quite put his finger on it but Ron was special.  
He didn’t find out Enid and Ron were dating until later one day when he and Enid were coming back over the wall, Ron was walking by, probably heading to Mikeys, looking rather distressed and fidgeting with his shirt to the point where it looked ready to rip. Carl frowned, worry etching into his brain.  
“Something probably happened at home” she looked upset yet indifferent, he didn’t think such a feat was achievable but here Enid was, achieving it. It had to be her face; her face was hardly readable. It wasn’t until he noticed Enid walking away that Carl blinked, brain catching up “Where are you going?”  
She paused, looking back at him “Performing the duties of being a good girlfriend and comforting my boyfriend, what else?” her voice was heavy with sarcasm but he could tell she did care; she was worried. Holy shit, though, you couldn’t even tell they were dating, if anything he thought Ron might have had a crush on Mikey considering how Ron was with him. By the time his brain caught up with reality again, Enid was gone.  
He didn’t see her, or the other two, again until a few days later when he caught Enid about to go over the wall “Enid, wait up” they crossed over the wall together, walking side by side and keeping a lookout for any curious walkers. “So…you and Ron?” Way to go, Grimes, that was one way to start a conversation!  
Enid snickered “Yeah…been since a bit after I got here, hard to tell, I know, I’m not exactly the best girlfriend” she shrugged a shoulder.  
“You care about him, right? A good girlfriend cares” He looked at her out of the corner of his eye. He knew she cared, yet she was so indifferent to him any other time “Unless…?”  
She looked at him directly, causing him to swivel his head in her direction.   
“I care about him, but not in the way I know he wants, not in the way he cares for me…I can’t, it's not love, I know this, but he gives more of himself to the relationship then I can give of myself”  
Carl frowned at her. That sounded…well, Carl wasn’t an expert in relationships, he’d only ever had his mom and dad to base anything off of and as much as he loved her he wasn’t oblivious to her dealings with Shane before his dad came back, or the issues that came after it. He wasn’t stupid, he knew the chances of his sister actually being his father's child were low; didn’t matter anyway, Judith was his sister and Rick’s daughter no matter blood, she came from Lori, that was reason enough for them.  
“So…why are you with him then? I mean…if you don’t like him like that why are you dating him? Why even say yes?” It was baffling to him, why date someone if you had no interest in making a relationship with the person?  
“Honestly, at the time I did want to date him, just probably not for the right reasons, you know?” No, he didn’t, he'd only ever had one relationship, and it had been willing and wanted on both sides and very secret from his father “I wanted the attention he was offering, after being alone so long he was like an endless drinking fountain. I realized I didn’t actually want to be with him later but…it’s complicated”  
She didn’t like him like that, what was so complicated about that? “Well, to be honest, I thought he had a thing for Mikey”  
He blinked in shocked confusion when Enid suddenly burst out laughing “what…?”  
“Oh my God, dude, no, they’re, like, super best friends or something but they’re not interested in each other like that!” she was having a giggle fit now.  
Carl was so confused “Then…what? Why is Ron always touching on Mikey then?”  
“Like I said, super best friends, I thought the same thing when I first met them, I was so shocked when Ron actually asked me to be his girlfriend” she cleared her throat, trying to calm down “Yeah, no, they’re legit just really close friends, they knew each other way before I came into the picture, so Ron’s extremely comfortable around Mikey to the point of cuddling”  
She smiled at the memory “I’ve seen him slide up into Mikey’s personal space and just attach himself to him and bury his head into Mikey’s side, or neck, and Mikey doesn’t care” She wasn’t going to mention the reasons as to why Ron did that, it wasn’t her place to reveal his problems. If he wanted Carl to know he’d tell him, or Carl would find out through the gossip chain.  
Carl blinked “Sounds like dating to me”  
Enid merely smiled “Well, they’re not, I can promise that, Ron’s not interested in Mikey that way, he’s told me so himself”  
She had another fit of giggles at the confused look on Carl’s face “So…he’s bi then?”  
“More or less, if you want to label it then yes, he’s Bi, if you ask him, it’s not about the gender, it’s about the person” she noted Carl’s thoughtful look “Well, in any case, you best get back, it will be dinner time soon”  
Carl looked to the sky, squinting his eyes at the position of the sun “Yeah, I take it you’re going out for a bit then?” He watched her nod her head before she continued on her way “Alright, be safe?” she clearly could be but what does one say to that? Have a nice day, I’ll see you when you get back? Yeah right. Turning on his heel he went back towards Alexandria, the conversation between him and Enid running through his head.  
She cared about Ron but didn’t like him like that, yet she couldn’t break up with him? What was stopping her? Why lead him on like that?  
He exhaled a sigh as he thought back to his mother and Shane. He could only hope Ron and Enid wouldn’t turn out like his Mom and Shane.  
Climbing back over the wall he decided to make a stop at Mikey’s, try and make some plans to hang out tomorrow since Enid wasn’t going to be around. Knocking on the door he greeted Mikey’s mother with a smile before she let him in. He made his way up the stairs; cause all these houses were made the same with two floors, quiet as he normally was and hardly making a sound, he paused. He could swear he heard something weird. Almost like a moan. Instincts said turn around and leave. Curiosity said, go ahead, find out. He stepped closer to Mikey’s slightly ajar door, attempting to get a peek in but another moan stopped him.  
It was Ron.  
“Damn it, Mik, take it easy will ya? A little gentleness wouldn’t hurt…” Ron grumbled, Carl swore he could feel Mikey’s eye roll from where he stood,  
“Maybe if you stopped squirming around it wouldn’t hurt so much, genius” there was a light smacking sound which caused a yelp from Ron “Mik! Not nice” he whined slightly.  
Carl felt heat radiating off his face. Were they…it sure sounded like it! Enid had said they weren’t together though, did that mean they were and Ron was cheating on Enid? He had to make sure before making assumptions. It was the right thing to do.  
Swallowing thickly he moved towards the door with all the careful quietness he had, peering in through the space.  
What he saw certainly wasn’t what he was expecting to see. It was Mikey and Ron yes. It wasn’t Mikey and Ron having sex. Mikey was instead sitting beside Ron at Mikey's desk, swabbing a cotton ball on Ron’s arm. Ron’s shredded arm that was bleeding. He had to of been using something that burned because Ron looked all levels of uncomfortable. He was shirtless, his torso had a large bruise across it and his other arm had fading bruises. Carls concern was the plate next to Mikey containing glass shards and a pair of tweezers.  
Carl felt nauseous. Who would hurt Ron like that?  
Turning from the door he walked back the way he came quietly, bidding Mikey’s mother a farewell smile and wishing her a good day. His walk home was full of thoughts. He needed to talk to Enid and Mikey, see what they knew about what happened to Ron. It had to wait until Enid came back a few days later, Carl wanted to confront them both at the same time and since Ron had been grounded by his mom for something or another it was the perfect opportunity to do so.  
They met in Mikey’s room as per usual, Mikey on the floor, Enid on the bed and Carl decided to take the desk chair where Ron had sat days before. Making eye contact with both of them to make sure they knew it was serious.  
“I saw something a few days ago, I am hoping you have answers” he shifted in the chair at their curious looks “Who’se hurting Ron” those curious looks had quickly turned sour.  
Mikey sighed “Look, whatever you saw-“  
“Its his father” Enid interjected.  
Mikey looked shocked “Enid!”  
“No, I’m tired of it! He hurts his whole family, everyone knows it, it’s no secret, stop acting like it is!”  
Ron thought he would be more shocked then he was. If he was honest with himself, Pete had rubbed his instincts the wrong way the first time he met him, to hear he hurt Ron and Jesse, maybe even Sam, was not surprising at all. Why was everyone letting it slide though!  
“You mean to tell me everyone here knows about it…and they do nothing? Why?!”  
Enid huffed, irritated, not at Carl but at the subject at hand “Because he’s the doctor, so people look the other way when he gets out of hand drunk and hurts his family”  
Carl was officially disgusted with the community.  
He shook his head “I assume I cant bring this up with Ron?”  
Mikey sighed “No, there is no need to upset him further by making him discuss the environment he lives in” Carl nodded, agreeing with Mikey, Ron lived it, why open old wounds and worsen fresh ones against his will? If Ron wanted to talk, Carl would listen, but until then he’d just be a good friend to Ron.  
“Are we done here” Enid wanted to get out. Carl got up, nodding to Mikey as a goodbye and heading out of the room with Enid. Once they were outside, over the wall and on the other side like normal, she spoke, surprising him “I’m going over soon, I don’t know if I’ll be coming back or not, at least not for a while”  
Carl frowned, looking at her “Let me guess…you’re not gonna tell him and leave him here alone to deal with this?”  
Enid looked back at him, brow raised “If I didn’t know any better, Carl, I’d say you were overly concerned about my leaving”  
He rolled his eyes “Of course I’m concerned, he’s my friend, and you’re my friend, but I can’t keep watching you hurt him more than he already is! If you think you’re not coming back then break it off with him, no use being his girlfriend if you’re only a good one when he’s been hurt.” Carl huffed, crossing his arms over his chest.  
She stared at him with that raised brow a moment longer before smiling “Aww, that’s cute”  
Carl was confused now “What? What’s cute? This is no time to be thinking of cute things Enid!”  
“It is cute, you have a crush on Ron” her lips formed a smirk.  
Carl’s cheeks turned pink “I do not! It’s normal to be concerned about a friend you know!” He looked away from her, trying to put his nose in the air but she only laughed at him for it.  
“Aww c’mon, Carl, it’s cute! If I were to break up with Ron I would totally approve of you dating him” she snickered. He couldn’t help feeling his face heat up more, he was pretty sure he was glowing, his face was a fucking Christmas light.  
“Don’t be ridiculous, Enid, even if I was interested, which I’m not, he wouldn’t date me, im nothing special-ow! Why’d you hit me!” he held his upper arm where Enid had decided to punch him.  
“I swear, all you males have self-esteem issues, it doesn’t matter if your special or not, people like other people for their own reasons” she huffed, crossing her arms over her chest.  
Carl rolled his eyes, rubbing his arm before returning back to his normal walking place.  
“Look, okay, just do him the courtesy and break up with him before you go?”   
Enid rose a brow, sighing lightly “Tell you what…I will give it some thought if you give your own feelings some thought” she crossed her arms.  
“My-MY own feelings?” he chuckled “What do my feelings have to do with this?”  
“Possibly a lot depending on how you look at it” her lips formed a smirk “C’mon, Casanova, you know what it is…head on back, I’ll see you later” she started walking away “Remember, I’ll think about it if you do”  
He frowned at her, watching her walk away. Why did he have to think about anything? What was there to think about? She was leading Ron on; even if she didn’t mean to, and it was by no means out of Carl’s friend zone to care like he did. That’s how he saw it. Friends cared about other friends well being, all the time, it’s what made good friends good!  
Carl was a shitty friend. Over the past week and a half, most of his time had been consumed by Enid, going over the wall with her, hanging out together, talking her into breaking up with Ron and NOT because he had a crush on him! She’d finally done it though. He’d gotten the report from her before she left, his dad had another fit over something stupid and Ron had paid the price. She’d left a week ago now and Carl had not seen Mikey or Ron that whole time, and he felt guilty. They were his friends too, and he had pretty much ignored them in favor of helping Enid and now that she was gone for however long he hadn’t bothered even trying to talk to them at all. He wanted to change that today. He needed to. He didn’t want them to hate him or think he only hung around for Enid.  
Determined he went towards Mikeys house, figuring he’d see if they were already there, when he saw Ron in the distance, walking towards the pond area. He looked…bad. Carl frowned, deciding to follow Ron instead of head to Mikeys.  
Stepping into the foliage with practiced stealth he watched Ron a moment; though it was just the back of his head and shoulders. He seemed to be thinking hard, Carl almost didn’t want to interrupt him. He did though, startled when he accidentally startled Ron who looked like he’d almost vaulted himself into the pond before looking to see who had done the startling.  
“Carl!?” He looked so surprised and that was when Carl noticed the bruising on Ron’s face. Frowning Carl opened his mouth to say something but Ron cleared his throat loudly, a clear sign that he wasn’t going to talk about it, especially not with Carl.It was a rather awkward conversation following, which had Carl feeling like an idiot after mentioning Mikey in the same sentence as Ron looking lonely, he’d literally made it sound like Ron was the last resort which wasn’t the case at all! When Enid was brought up, or rather her lack of appearance by Carl, Carl couldn’t help but feel guilty because he understood why Ron would ask that, he’d been berating himself about the fact not moments before he found Ron. His guilt must’ve looked like something else to Ron though because he was apologizing in a roundabout way that made it seem like it was his fault Carl was ‘upset’ even though he really wasn’t, just guilty as all Hell for being a shitty friend.  
He smiled at Ron’s suggestion that Ron thought he might weird Carl out because they never hung out alone together. Carl couldn’t help the smirk or his daring words for Ron to give it all he had, Carl could handle it.  
Their shenanigans started with Eugene, who Carl was iffy about pranking. Eugene wasn’t a bad person, Carl actually kind of liked him, he just got this high and mighty attitude sometimes and suddenly Carl didn’t mind that they were pranking Eugene. Naturally, it was successful though Carl owed most of that to Ron since he’d never pranked anyone before; he’d joked around with Michonne but they’d never pranked each other. So when they got Aaron with just as much success; and he was a good sport about it too, their next target ended up being, by Ron’s words, the next person to walk down the sidewalk…neither knew or even thought about it being Michonne but rules were rules and they got her too. She smiled at them in that way that Carl knew meant she would retaliate eventually and Carl could see it on Ron’s face, he was scared of what was to come too. Michonne was creative like that, she wouldn’t retaliate right away, she’d think it through, plan it out to the finest detail and get them when they least expected it.Nevermind scared. They were officially terrified. Getting over their fear they managed to get Tobin, Spencer, and Rosita; She was not a good sport about the prank at first until she realized it was just Ron and Carl. Their win streak came to an abrupt halt with their last prank victim.  
“Are you sure this is gonna work?” Carl questioned Ron, helping him set up for the first person to walk through the front door. It was his home, there was no telling who it was gonna be, he knew it wasn’t going to be Michonne or his dad, they were currently on duty around Alexandria. Sure his family members lived in different houses but they like to frequent what they called ‘the main home’ as often as they wished. Oh God, what if it WAS his dad! What if he decided to come home early!  
“Carl…Carl, you’re over thinking, I can see you over thinking from here, stop” Ron chuckled “Relax, it’s a harmless prank, its not meant to cause harm…maaaybe a bit of stress but no physical harm”  
Carl looked at Ron like he was nuts “Stress! You mention this now! Dude, what if it's my father coming home early! He doesn’t handle stress well when it comes at him like a surprise!” He pouted slightly as Ron laughed “Stop laughing, there’s a chance I won't make it out of this alive”  
Ron shook his head “Relax, Carl, I can promise your dad won't be the one walking through the door, he's across town, and I’m pretty sure your dad can take a small prank if by chance he did come back early, so relax”  
Ron finished the set up “There, now we wait! So whatcha got to do here?” he looked around the clean house. His home only had the video games in his room, he doubted Carl’s place would be any different but he could always hope, right?  
“Um…no, not really, I’m usually at your place, so…” He shrugged his shoulders lightly “We should probably go out the back way, wait on the front porch” With Ron’s nod of agreement they left the house out the back door, making their way to the front porch as they chatted about the most inane things; like Mikey’s sickness in the middle of what might have been the summertime, which Ron concluded was probably from what hed heard was called a ‘summer cold’. Carl didn’t believe it, sitting on the porch steps with Ron for the next 30 minutes or so.  
In that span of time they had completely been engrossed in their conversation, something about a comic book character, and so didn’t hear Daryl walk up “Hey, Carl, do me a favor, run in and grab that container of cookies, Carol needs’em”  
And without even considering Daryl might be up to something “Oh, sure, on the counter right?” He got up as Daryl nodded, heading towards the door. It was only as he was turning the doorknob that Ron remembered “Carl! Wai-“ too late, Carl had the pleasure of being smacked in the face by a balloon filled with green mush made from plants and some water.   
Daryl smirked at Ron “Michonne” was all he said before walking away. Ron stared after him in disbelief before scrambling up the porch stairs to help Carl “Are you okay?” He helped wipe Carl’s face off, watching Carl spit out some of the green, most likely nasty tasting, gunk they had created.  
“I’m okay, its just nasty as all sin” Carl chuckled, wiping his face as well with Rons help “I got it, can you go get a wet cloth from the kitchen?”  
He watched Ron leave to the kitchen to get the cloth. About 10 or so minutes later Carl was cleaned off and his shirt was in the wash, a new one covering his torso. Carl could feel Ron’s boredom growing again, pranks could only hold interest for so long after all. It was then Carl was hit with an idea.  
“Hey, Ron...I have an idea, you’re welcome to say no, I’ll understand but...” he fidgeted slightly with his hat “Would you like to go over the walls?” He looked up, blue eyes meeting Ron’s hazel “There’s a town, a couple miles away, I wanna teach you how to protect yourself out there, we could head out and see if we can find anything?” He watched Ron, watched his facial expression change as he thought about it. He was so sure Ron was going to say no before the other boy looked at him, taking him by surprise.  
“Sure, on one condition…” Ron looked so serious as he said this but wary at the same time in his eyes “don’t leave me alone out there”  
Carl couldn’t believe it, his lips stretched into a smile and nodded. After sneaking into the armory to obtain a few items they made their way over the wall, a hunting knife tucked into both their belts and Carls gun tucked into his leg holster.Carl took a breath he didn’t know he was holding as relief left his body, hand moving to check his knife was securely in place “Well, here we are” he could feel his lips stretch into a light smirk as he looked at Ron who was looking around, a curious yet wary glint in his eye. A light hum left Carls throat, gaining Rons attention “First time out in a while or in general?” he could see the thoughtful look play across Rons face.  
“Awhile…too long awhile, honestly” he took a breath “I used to sneak out like Enid did but I never went far, I just…needed to get out every now and then”  
Carl rose a brow in disbelief at the fact alone that Ron had gone over and not been bitten with his inexperience. Then again that’s why they were out here, to teach him. Carl was so lost in thought he didn’t notice Ron watching him with his own raised brow before waving a hand in front of Carls face “Hey, Carl, you alive in there?”   
Carl blinked before looking at Ron, momentarily confused.  
Ron snorted in amusement “Sometimes you’re just a little too serious, you need to loosen up” a devious smirk crossed the sandy blonds features at Carls irritated pout.  
“I am plenty loose, thank you, we’re-what? What’s so funny?” Carl couldn’t help the light glare at Ron as the other boy laughed.  
“Dude, you’re the least relaxed person I know, even when we’re hanging out, but its okay, I got a solution” That smirk returned and Carl couldn’t help feeling a tad nervous.  
“What-Hey!” Ron had suddenly moved, swattingCarls hat off his head, the tips of his fingers skimming Carls nose before he turned and began running with a light laugh. Snatching his hat off the ground, Carl gave chase with his own chuckle, catching up to Ron and tripping him into the leaves to get ahead of him, zigzagging through the terrain and ultimately feeling he had the upper hand when he was suddenly tripped as well, hat falling off his head as he belly-flopped into the leaves with a yelp. He heard Ron move ahead with a snicker. Pushing himself up he paid no mind to the leaves as he grabbed his hat and chased after Ron. They tripped each other around the forest in the name of fun, it went pretty well, only twice in their failed efforts to be semi-quiet did Carl have to dig his blade into the decayed flesh and soft skulls of the dead. After that, they calmed their play to a simple walk.  
That simple walk somehow turned into 20 questions with Ron, each question weirder than the last, making Carl look at Ron funny or just straight out laugh.  
Eventually, they ran across the town Carl remembered them passing through when they first arrived. He looked at Ron, smirk lightly“Wanna see if there’s anything in the houses?” he watched Ron shrug and nod. The first house was fairly raided, as were the next two they looked through. Carl wasn’t expecting them to find anything, so imagine his surprise when they managed to find an old family run shop hidden amongst some overgrowth. It was almost entirely untouched and Carl could only sum it up to the fact it looked so run down, like it had been abandoned before the apocalypse even happened.   
The door pushed open easy enough and revealed racks of untouched clothes and shelves of trinkets and more clothes. Someone had been here once before but the amount of dust hanging over everything told Carl it had been awhile…a very long while.   
“Damn…place needs a good dusting” Carl mumbled, reaching towards one of the shelves and picking up a thick, hardcovered book and listening to the binding creak and crack, dust falling off the cover, even the pages crinkled slightly at the softest touch. He saw Ron out of his peripheral, gently fingering through a rack of what looked like different colored plaid button-ups; some catching Carl’s eyes…he wanted them. Ron seemed to think along the same lines and a bit of searching the shelves revealed bags which they stuffed tactfully full of clothes and some other things carl had found interesting.  
“we should probably head back now” He grunted out as he slung the back over his shoulder, Ron mimicking him. The trek back to Alexandria was void of fun and games, the sun was setting and they had to be more alert; Carl had to be more alert, Ron was still learning.  
Thankfully they made it back without incident, climbing back over the wall, making their way into one of the abandoned houses on the edge of the walled community; one of the ones not yet occupied as there were not enough people in Carl’s opinion.  
He walked his way up the stairs to the master bedroom, dropping the bag on the bed since they couldn’t bring it in without alerting Rick which would get them in trouble and the last thing Carl wanted was to get in trouble by his father for going over the wall with Ron Anderson. Looking around the room he saw Ron put his own bag down “There’s still a lot of stuff there, we going back tomorrow?” The blond question, the tone of his voice curious and slightly eager.   
Carl gave the room one more sweep of his eyes before looking back to Ron, a smile stretching his lips out and he wondered not for the first time how Ron managed to make him smile so easily “Yeah, I don’t see why not, besides, we could…I dunno, make this place like our private stash?” That smile never left his face as Ron looked around the room, observing it the same way Carl had done before a wide smile stretched across Rons face as he agreed, it caused Carls own to widen considerably.  
As they walked side by side towards the more civilized part of town Carl could tell Ron was thinking hard about something, his fidgeting proved that He just doesn’t know what. When Ron paused their walk, saying something about needing to get home to check on his mom. When Ron asked if hed see Carl tomorrow Carl smiled once more and nodded, watching Ron get a little flustered before suddenly pulling Carl into a timid hug. Next thing Carl knew was the wet feeling sliding up his cheek and he couldn’t help but freeze in sheer shock alone. Ron had just…licked his face?  
Carl could feel heat rising in his cheeks, could feel his face like it had been set aflame, even as his nose wrinkled slightly because as much as it could mean something…it was kinda pretty damn nasty. He was too late to realize his general silence and facial expression had put Ron off as he practically yelled ‘Bye!’, turning and pulling that beanie of his down and over his eyes, power walking away from Carl before Carl could even pull himself out of his shock.  
Frowning, Carl made his way home as well, mind on the attack his cheek had received from the older boy. He’d ask him tomorrow, they had agreed to meet after all. Feeling rather exhausted Carl climbed into his bed as soon as he had something to eat, didn’t even bother changing his clothes, just collapsed and knocked out. He awoke from a pleasant dream, though couldn’t remember exact details of it, whatever it was it left him with a smile on his face. First thing on his agenda was to take a shower and eat something; even if that something was a leftover bowl of instant potatoes and peas covered in gravy. Halfway through his shower, he remembered that though he and Ron agreed to meet up again, they never specified a time.   
Oh well, Alexandria wasn’t big by any means, he’d just wait for Ron by the wall. Finally heading out the door he grabbed the book he was working on, nodded to Michonne as she came back from her morning shift. Finding the spot Carl made himself comfortable on the ground, cracking open the book and slowly working through it. He was by no means illiterate, his mom had seen to it that he kept learning even on the road, and Patrick, bless his heart, had taken it upon himself to help Carl when he found Carl trying to continue what his mother had taught.  
He still wasn’t the best reader but he was getting better; helped that the book was good, even if a little ridiculous.  
He'd managed 5 chapters before he realized it was a bit after noon now, at least 2 if he read the position of the sun right, and Ron still hadn’t shown up. He frowned lightly, marking the page with a folded piece of paper before getting up. Maybe he forgot. Making his way to Rons house he walked up the porch to the front door, knocking and after a moment being greeted by Jesse.  
“Hey, Mrs. Anderson” he returned the smile she gave him “Is Ron home?”Jesse frowned lightly “I’m sorry, Carl, Ron isn't feeling good, he wanted to go out and meet you but I don’t want to risk the fever getting worse”  
Carl felt his face pull into a frown “Okay, I wanted to talk to him about something but I guess it can wait…um, tell him to get better?” He turned after she nodded, heading back down the stairs of the porch and two houses over to where he lived. He frowned, deep in thought now. He’d wanted to talk to Ron about the whole face licking thing but he guessed it would have to wait. Sitting on one of the chairs on his porch he didn’t realize how bothered he looked until he was startled out of his own head by Daryl flicking his forehead.  
“Daryl!” He huffed, watching the older man smirk and snicker.  
“whats got your panties in a twist?” Daryl dropped into the second chair, bringing his feet up to settle on the railing.  
Carl trusted Daryl, but Daryl was his fathers best friend, and he didn’t want it getting back to his father. He took a breath “Can you promise not to tell my dad?” he looked to Daryl, watching the thoughts go through his head before he nodded “I went over the wall yesterday with Ron, I was teaching him how to survive” and goofing off in the process but Daryl didn’t need to know that, Daryl didn’t need to know they found a place and stashed stuff either. Carl swallowed, a tad nervous about mentioning this last part to Daryl but maybe he could help “We came back over and…I'm not sure what to make of it but he…he gave me a hug and licked…my cheek”  
Carl could feel the heat rise to his face as he recounted the moment and was pretty sure he officially resembled a tomato now. Even so, he watched Daryl. The older man had a thoughtful face, like he was analyzing, so Carl continued “I was gonna ask him about it today but I guess he got sick, that’s what Mrs. Anderson said so I’ll just-what?” Carl frowned as he noticed Daryl’s face morph into an amused smirk before he shook his head.  
“He’s not sick, he’s hiding” Naturally, that confused Carl. Why would Ron hide? Thankfully, Daryl felt the need to shed more light on the situation “He thinks you rejected him, so he’s hiding from you” and now Carl was further confused if the look on his face was anything to go by. Daryl smirked, thoroughly amused now “Here’s something to think about…  
most mammals show affection to an intended mate by licking” his smirk only widened at Carls even more confused expression and he got up “I got faith in you, kid, you’ll figure it out” and he stepped into the house to do whatever it was Daryl did.  
Carl sighed lightly, slightly frustrated. Well, that was no help whatsoever. He thought Daryl could help him understand but instead alls he did was confuse him further! Why would Ron think Carl rejected him? They had hung out all day and made plans to meet back up! What did the habits of animals have to do with Ron lick-oh…OH! Once more Carl was pretty sure his face resembled that of the ripest tomatoes. That, or a cherry. Definitely going with cherry.  
Over the next couple of days, he tried to get in contact with Ron, going so far as to knock on his door every morning, he needed to talk to him about this whole licking thing. He'd talked to Daryl again, had asked him what he should do to address the situation...Daryl had told him to look at how he feels, the answer will be obvious then. So, he did. Thinking on it led back to the conversation he had with Enid before she left for however long. He was at a loss for the rest of that week, not bothering knocking on Rons door as he had an internal war in his brain.  
Did he like Ron?  
Did he like Ron as more than just a friend who he cared about?  
He was fairly attractive, Carl couldn’t deny that even if he wanted to; he hated when people lied so why would he lie to himself over something so base as someone being physically attractive?  
But then Mikey was attractive also and Carl felt no different admitting that than he did admitting that his own father was also physically attractive, it was a fact, everyone knew it. Admitting Ron was attractive caused no problems but it did leave a weird feeling deep in his belly. Thinking back on it he realized something; the feeling had always been there. From the first day he started hanging out with the group the feeling was there, it just wasn’t there for who he thought it was there for.  
He liked Enid, he really did, she was awesome, he thought that weird feeling was from her, and again, now that he thought about it, it was never there with her when they were alone. It was never there when hed been alone with her and Mikey to ask about Rons bruises. But that day, over the wall, it was there. It was there and he hadn't noticed. It was there when they ran through the woods like children. It was there when Ron licked his face. It was here, now, while he was thinking about the time he'd spent with Ron, alone.  
He felt his face heat up in embarrassment. It cemented one thing for certain…Ron wasn’t going to be hiding in that room of his forever. He was going to come out if Carl had to drag him out. That night he went to bed with a goal in mind, enacting that goal would be a little tricky but he was sure it could be pulled off. Come morning he got out of bed, going through his routine of food and cleanliness before heading out the door. His father was going on a run later that day, it was possible he could use it to his advantage but first thing was first.  
Getting Mikey to agree was a lot easier then Carl thought it would be. Apparently Ron, despite Mikeys insistence, was under the impression hed ruined what could have been a good friendship. Carl couldn’t disagree more, hed also never wanted to smack someone upside their head so badly before but Ron was quickly making his way up there.  
Regardless, Carl got Mikeys cooperation easy enough. Next step was Rons mom, which would be left up to Mikey as he could actually get inside the house, so Carl gave him a paper to give to her. Now it was just a matter of playing the waiting game, this had been going on for a week, it needed to be resolved and Ron needed to come out of the damn house!  
Carl made rounds around Alexandria, waiting for Mikey to come out and when he did he approached him “Anything?”  
“Well, he’s convinced he’s ruined the possibilities of even a friendship with you, I gave Mrs. Anderson the note, she said to come knocking tomorrow morning, she’ll help get Ron out of the house, don’t worry Carl” Carl sighed as Mikey patted his shoulder before leaving. Carl looked up, he could have sworn he saw Ron in the window but it might’ve just been wishful thinking. Once more he went to bed with determination for the coming morning.  
Once more he woke up ate breakfast, brushed his teeth and skipped the shower cause he took one yesterday. Michonne demanded he run a brush through his hair too before he left. She was a very convincing woman. Hair brushed he stepped out the door, heading the two houses down to Rons and knocking on the door, answered shortly by Jesse “Morning Mrs. Anderson, is Ron feeling any better?”  
“I’m afraid not, is there anything you would like me to tell him?” She smirked at him and it was then he knew why. Ron had appeared only to hide again and she had heard him “Can you let him know I’m going on a run with my dad? We should be back by tomorrow” As Jesse agreed Carl turned, heading off the front porch and making himself scarce, waiting.  
He hoped this wasn’t all for nothing, he did want to talk to Ron again, if only to reassure him, among other things, that the friendship was not lost. He had made his way to the pond, sitting amongst the greenery as he thought. He was not expecting Ron to suddenly be at the ponds edge, then again he was here when this whole thing started.  
Without thinking, he sat up, reaching out and grasping Rons shirt, dragging him down into the foliage. Rons startled noise was almost comical but Carl was on a mission, so without delay and giving Ron no room to protest he moved, licking up his cheek like Ron had done to him.  
He was so caught up in actually doing it that once it was done his mind went into panic.  
Why did he do that! The whole purpose was to talk to Ron not…not lick his face! Damn you, Daryl! You and your cryptic animal messages! You-  
“Carl, I…”  
His attention snapped to Ron and he spoke before the words even registered with his brain “You’re weird…” he noticed Rons flinch, totally not what he was going for at all. Fix it, Grimes! “But, I like it” and he smiled, more so when he watched Rons face achieve a deeper red than before. Apparently, his body was on a roll doing as it pleased before consulting his brain as it moved of its own accord, reaching up one hand and placing it on Rons face, gentle, guiding. His body continued its path as he met Ron halfway, lips meeting in the softest of touches.  
Unfortunately for them, fate was never so kind as to have this moment be private.  
“Well that’s just fucking adorable” Enid stood over them, arms crossed and smirking at their red faces as Carl; and most likely Ron, stared at her with wide eyes like she’d just caught them pulling off something illegal.


End file.
